VIDEO: Pensacon 2025 brings joy to Pensacola. See it for yourself
As Pensacon 2025 comes to an end, come with us to relive some of the most interesting sights and sounds from this year’s pop-culture convention.
Pensacon has left the city starstruck, drawing thousands Saturday for the second day of the pop-culture convention’s 12th season.
Some attendees came with a mission in mind − to snag a photo with a celebrity, cosplay as their favorite character, or collect a coveted artifact such as a Dungeons & Dragons collectible die. Others just came looking for a good time. Either way, Pensacon likely had what they were looking for.
Because of the Pensacola Bay Center’s expansive space, a variety of different art forms have a place to shine, including live orchestra music from the Emerald Coast Honors Orchestra (ECHO) from the upper floor, which projected to the entire arena.
“We are the soundtrack of Pensacon,” said Laura Ellis, violinist and instructor for ECHO.
Attendees beamed with joy when they recognized the techno tune of the Super Mario Brother’s theme song, or the more suspenseful one of Indiana Jones. But what really makes the crowd go feral is a little Star Wars tune called “The Imperial March,” according to Ellis.
Ellis said the youth-based orchestra has been a part of the conference since the very beginning, and not only provides joy to participants, but provides orchestra members the opportunity to dress up and perform fun music they might not normally get to play in school.
The musicians weren’t the only types of artists captivating the crowd, as professional comic book artists like Derec Donovan were working away as cosplayers looked on with amazement and inquired about the transition from comic book design as a passion to a profession.
“I’ve always been an artist; I’ve always drawn in the classroom and stuff. I’ve always been a fan of comic books and cartoons. One day, I met somebody who was kind of doing it as a job, and that’s the first time I realized, ‘Wait a minute, I need a job. I should do this!” Donovan said. “So many of us spend so much time in our little caves with our little books and stuff, and we’re like, ‘Surely I’m the only weirdo on the planet.’ You come out to something like this and you’re like, ‘No, there are many of us weirdos. We’re all a big family.’”
First-timers fall in love with the world of cosplay
This year, a handful of first-time cosplayers came out of their comfort zones, such as Mark and Nancy Juntunen. The two have been married for 35 years and channeled the Pixar lovers from the 2009 movie “Up,” Carl and Ellie Fredricksen.
While the Juntunen’s children have been Pensacon regulars for a decade, they finally convinced their parents that Mark’s “square face” and Nancy’s “petiteness” were perfect to pull off the part.
“Our kids have been telling us for years that we should cosplay as Carl and Ellie,” Mark said.
All it took to complete the look was a makeshift-tennis ball cane, some grape soda bottlecap pins and an “Our Adventure Book” scrapbook to start earning the compliments of fellow cosplayers. The praise was pouring in so frequently that “we can hardly get from one place to another,” Mark said.
“It’s been more fun than I was expecting,” Nancy added. “Just seeing all the other costumes has been really fun.”
Christoper Lawton was another first-timer brought out by seasoned con attendee, Nathan Tapscott. Tapscott cosplayed as an original character of his own design: a steampunk alchemist, complete with a lantern and string of garlic dangling from his backpack and steam pillowing out of hat on demand.
“I’ve been doing cons for three years now, this is probably the best cosplay I’ve done yet,” Lawton said. “We love taking pictures with people, that’s the best thing I think you can do at the Con.”
Even though Lawton is a cosplay amateur, his tuffs of spiky yellow hair pulled back with a forehead protector and signature orange and blue blocked jumpsuit identical to the television show would suggest otherwise.
He doesn’t anticipate this year’s Pensacon will be his last.
“I thoroughly enjoy getting to know people, making connections and since this is my first time kind of diving into this culture, and surrounding myself with a bunch of new characters and new faces, it’s a beautiful experience. I look forward to just meeting people,” Lawton said. “This is way out of comfort zone…especially dressing up and cosplaying. First time I’ve ever done it besides Halloween. I’m going to keep doing it again and again and again.”
Some cosplayers were hopeful to go all the way in winning the annual costume contest, like couple Jennifer and Alex George.
When Jennifer shared her vision to become a real-life Gears of War soldier, her husband went straight to work in crafting the custom-made outfit to her liking, even though he isn’t as dedicated a follower of the video game itself. Once he was finished, all the armor appeared as artistic as it did functional when her protective vest rested on her shoulders awaiting the judges’ seal of approval for Saturday’s contest.
When Pensacon participants weren’t interacting with cosplayers portraying different characters, they were busy chasing down the real-life people who played them hosting photo-ops and Q & A panels.
Even surrounding Pensacola restaurants and bars were having fun with star-studded celebrity sightings, with Ming Chen popping by the Azalea Cocktail Lounge and Perfect Plain, and Priscilla Presley venturing out to Felix’s Restaurant and Oyster Bar and The Fish House.
Dozens of attendees were able to hear from Presley first-hand when she led a panel at the Roberts Center, which is part of Pensacola’s United Methodist Church Saturday afternoon.
Priscilla Presley talks Elvis marriage, Michael Jackson, career, more
Priscilla Presley packed a lot into her 45-minute Q & A session, such as her experience starring in the television series “Dallas,” her co-star Leslie Nielsen’s pranks on the cast of “The Naked Gun,” her love for animals, her opinions on her daughter’s relationship with Michael Jackson, and of course − her relationship with global superstar Elvis Presley.
“Elvis and I had a great relationship,” Priscilla told the Wright Center’s audience. “You know I met Elvis when I was only 14 years old… I met him within a month of being in Germany.”
She remembers sitting at the Eagles Club when she was approached by a man asking if she liked Elvis. If she did, he could arrange a meeting for her.
“I just looked at him and said − “Who doesn’t?”, Priscilla said.
She didn’t think her parents would like him, mainly because of his appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.
“His moving and movements were a little questionable,” Priscilla said. “My mother and father were shocked.”
Eventually, Elvis won them over when he arrived to pick up Priscilla in a full-military uniform, and after several hours of conversation − they were charmed. This lofty conversation was slightly to Priscilla’s dismay, who was down to only an hour remaining before she was due back home for curfew.
Then, the million-dollar question was asked from the Wright Center crowd: “What was Elvis like?”
Priscilla’s first thought was to describe Elvis’ relationship with his mother.
“He still hadn’t gotten over the loss of his mother…. he never really got over the loss of her,” Priscilla said.
She described their close relationship, detailing his mother’s fears of Elvis’ deployment to Germany, and, his rising stardom.
“She was very concerned about him and his safety,” Priscilla said.
Another one of Elvis’ protectors was his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, who was a controversial figure to the public eye. Priscilla, however, said Parker considered him a son.
“I actually got along great with Colonel Parker. Colonel was not the bad guy that everyone made him out to be. He was very strict taking care of Elvis, that was what his mission was − making sure that Elvis was taken care of,” she said. “He kind of got a bad reputation. He loved Elvis very, very much. It was like a son he never had. But yes, was he tough? Yes, absolutely he was tough.”
She also spoke of her concerns over her late daughter Lisa Marie Presley’s marriage to Michael Jackson.
“I was very suspicious about Michael,” Priscilla said. “He (was) truly a talented man. I did not feel that he was really in love my daughter. I think he was in love with the name, Presley.”
Priscilla did leave some good news with the audience though, as she spoke on protecting Graceland, the 200,000 square foot complex that once served as the home of the Presleys, as rumors buzzed last year of the property’s foreclosure.
“Graceland will always stay in the family, for sure,” Priscilla said, followed by a roar of applause from her audience.
There are still plenty of more cosplayers to converse with and celebrities to see in the final day of Pensacon Sunday. For a full line-up of events, visit Pensacon.com.